Dallas Cowboys Won't Miss Players Who Departed this Offseason

By Ben Grimaldi

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Every year teams have to make difficult decisions during the offseason. Players to keep or release often becomes a huge part of the decision making process and it can make for some very tense moments for every team. Fortunately for the Dallas Cowboys, none of the players they released this offseason will be missed.

Looking at the list of players the Cowboys cut or just didn’t re-sign and it doesn’t appear as though any of them would make a big impact on the 2013 Cowboys. Felix Jones, Kevin Ogletree, Dan Connor, John Phillips, Marcus Spears, Kenyon Coleman, Gerald Sensabaugh and Mike Jenkins were all nice players with the Cowboys but none of them will be missed.

Jones had his moments in Dallas but he never became the homerun threat they thought he was going to be and they replaced him with Joseph Randle in the draft. However, even more significant, I think the Cowboys believe Lance Dunbar can be a true homerun threat in limited touches as he takes over as the change of pace back in Dallas.

Ogletree will not be missed at all. The Cowboys waited too long to get rid of the receiver who had too many missed opportunities to become a bigger part of their offense. Instead, Dallas will lean on the emergence of Dwayne Harris and drafted Terrance Williams to replace him. The same can be said for Phillips, who the Cowboys have replaced with Gavin Escobar and James Hanna.

Mike Jenkins appeared to have worn out his welcome with the Cowboys when he decided to rehab his shoulder away from the team last offseason. Jenkins, who was underrated in his time as a Cowboy, played tougher than his size but like Jones, he never became the player the Cowboys thought they were getting when they drafted him. Dallas was expecting a shutdown cornerback and he never he never became that player for the Cowboys. Dallas has a good enough group of cornerbacks, including their new draft pick B.W. Webb, to not miss Jenkins.

Dallas also won’t miss Coleman or Spears, despite their need for defensive line depth. The Tampa 2 scheme is built more on quickness and explosion, something both players lacked. As good as both players were in the Cowboys locker room, chemistry isn’t nearly the issue now as it was in the past.

The Cowboys are still inexperienced at safety but I don’t believe they’ll miss Gerald Sensabaugh either. He didn’t fit the new defensive system because he wasn’t a play maker and the Cowboys brought in Will Allen, who can do the same things as Sensabaugh, only he’s familiar with Monte Kiffin’s defense. Again, no big loss in Sensabaugh either.

Actually the Cowboys have a good track record with players they released not amounting to much after leaving Dallas since Jason Garrett has become head coach. Andre Gurode, Bradie James, Laurent Robinson, Leonard Davis, Marion Barber and Roy Williams haven’t produced much for their new teams in recent years and the Cowboys have showed good judgement by allowing them to leave.

Terence Newman had a decent season with the Cincinnati Bengals last year but his two interceptions were two fewer than the season before with the Cowboys, when he was supposedly playing hurt. The one exception is Martellus Bennett but he was never going to be the player they envisioned when they drafted him by continuing his career in Dallas.

No, the Cowboys won’t miss any player they released this offseason, but they will be getting better results on the field because of it.

Ben is a Cowboys writer for Rantsports.com and you can chat with or follow him on twitter @BenGrimaldi, or you can add him on Google+